Oral history interview with John R. Laidlaw

Collection

Identifier: SR 9461

Staff Only

Oral history interview with John R. Laidlaw

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Scope and Contents

This oral history interview with John R. Laidlaw was conducted by Charles Digregorio at the Oregon Historical Society in Portland, Oregon, on June 10, 1976, as part of the oral history program at the society’s research library. Henry C. C. Stevens was also present and occasionally contributed to the interview. In addition to the audio recording of the interview, a transcript is available.

In this interview, Laidlaw speaks at length about his family background. He discusses his early life in Portland, Oregon. He talks about prominent families in early 20th century Portland, including the C. E. S. Wood family, and shares anecdotes from his life as a Catholic priest. He talks about serving as a pastor in Astoria during World War I. He also talks about his siblings, their families, and their careers. He closes the interview by sharing further anecdotes about his time as a priest.

Dates

Creation: 1976 June 10

Creator

Laidlaw, John R., 1898- (Interviewee, Person)
Digregorio, Charles (Interviewer, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Joint copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society and the estate of John R. Laidlaw. Use is allowed according to the following statement: In Copyright – Non-Commercial Use Permitted, https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-NC/1.0/

Biographical note

John Raleigh Laidlaw was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1898. Because his father served as a British consul, Laidlaw had dual U.S. and U.K. citizenship. During World War I, he served as a pastor in Astoria. He became a Roman Catholic priest around 1927. He retired in 1973, and died in 1983.

Sources: Information provided by Laidlaw in his oral history interview, as well as two other oral histories, SR 69 and SR 9462, at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library; vital records on Ancestry.com.

Extent

0.1 Cubic Feet (1 audiocassette (54 min., 36 sec.) + transcript (28 pages))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Oral history interview with John R. Laidlaw conducted by Charles Digregorio on June 10, 1976. Laidlaw was a Roman Catholic priest in Oregon from around 1919 to 1973.